Khutbah
2/2 主麻講稿 （khatib: Br Abdullah Cheng鄭平）
Dear brothers and sisters,
Among the attributes of Allah are Al-Rahman and Al-Raheem, the most Gracious, the most Merciful, which we mention every single day, Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem, also in Surah Al Fatihah. The mercy and forgiveness of Allah is repeated again and again throughout the entire Qur’an. He is Al-Afuw, He is the Forgiver of sins, He is Al-Ghafoor, He is the Most Forgiving.
Allah (SWT) has the most beautiful names and attributes, but He has emphasized His Mercy over other attributes, because it is relevant to us, so much so, that it is directly related to the reason why we humans were created in the first place.
When Allah has declared to the angels:
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌۭ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةًۭ ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
˹Remember˺ when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to place a successive ˹human˺ authority on earth.” They asked ˹Allah˺, “Will You place in it someone who will spread corruption there and shed blood while we glorify Your praises and proclaim Your holiness?” Allah responded, “I know what you do not know.” [2:30]
The scholars said, that one of the reasons and wisdoms why Allah has created the human beings is to manifest, to demonstrate His Mercy. If the humans don’t exist and only the angels exist, then Allah wouldn’t even have to forgive because the angels don’t commit sins, so the perfection of Allah cannot be demonstrated. Only when humans exist, when humans commit evil sins and mistakes and learn how to repent and ask for forgiveness, then we can understand how merciful, how forgiving is Allah.
So from this point, we have to realize, that Allah didn’t create us to be perfect and sinless, because there are already angels. The Rahma, the Karam, the mercifulness, and the graciousness of Allah are specifically meant for us, not for the angels.
The Prophet (SAW) said:
كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ وَخَيْرُ الْخَطَّائِينَ التَّوَّابُونَ
All the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent, those who make Tawbah. [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2499]
There is no exception, every single human being commits sins. However, the more important point is not the sin itself, but how do we deal with it. Both Adam (AS) and Iblees disobeyed Allah, but the difference between them is how they respond to their sins. Allah (SWT) has used Adam (AS) as an example and a role model for us to learn: when Adam (AS) committed a sin, Allah didn’t immediately just punish him, but instead He gave Adam (AS) an opportunity to learn how to repent. He learned to acknowledge his mistake, and he felt guilty for his sin, and he sincerely asked Allah to forgive him for what he had done. Adam (AS) made a Du’a to Allah to ask for forgiveness:
رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ
Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be losers. [7:23]
So even our father Adam (AS) committed a sin when he was living in Jannah, and this is part of our human nature and there is no exception at all, but at the same time, Allah has also taught us to ask forgiveness from Him and to not lose hope from asking His forgiveness. One of the most positive, one of the most motivational and beautiful Ayahs in the entire Qur’an is this Ayah:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Say: “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [39:53]
This is said by Allah (SWT) Himself. Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy. Allah certainly forgives all sins. There is no action in this world that Allah cannot forgive. The worst sin of all sins is Shirk, and even Shirk is forgiven when someone enters Islam and becomes a Muslim.
In one Hadith narration, the Prophet (SAW) said that the greatest major sins are: to associate partners with Allah (which is Shirk), to lose hope in Allah’s mercy, and to feel safe from Allah’s plan (meaning to think that he will not be punished even after committing sins) [Tafsīr Ibn Abī Ḥātim 5201]
So to lose hope in Allah’s mercy is one of the worst sins, even worse than murder.. The reason for that is, if someone thinks that his sins cannot be forgiven by Allah, he is basically limiting the mercy of Allah, and making himself so big instead, thinking that his sins are so big that no one can forgive him. This is a denial of one of the attributes of Allah.
In the same Hadith, it is also mentioned one of the worst sins is to feel safe from Allah’s plan. This is the other side of the extreme: we cannot think that because Allah is All-Merciful, whatever sin we commit, at the end of the day, Allah will forgive us. The only moment we should feel secure and ease from Allah’s plan, is the moment when we step into Jannah. Before we get to that, we should have Taqwa in Allah. And this is a reminder of Allah to have a balance between hope and fear for Him.
Now, if we committed a sin, what should we do?
There are 4 steps to take:
1. To feel guilty, to feel remorse, to truly feel regretful for what we have done
2. To make the intention that we don’t go back to the sin again. It doesn’t matter if we eventually commit the same sin again. We still have to make Tawbah.
3. To stop that sin immediately. If this sin involves the rights of others, whether it’s physical harm or taking the money or slandering or backbiting, we have to ask forgiveness from the victim.
4. Lastly, to do good deeds to make it up and make Du’a to ask forgiveness from Allah. For example, taking Wudhu and praying 2 rak’at of Salat. One of the recommended Du’a to ask forgiveness is the Du’a of Sayyidul Istighfar, which is the most superior way of asking forgiveness, and this is the Du'a:
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ
Our Prophet (SAW) said: If somebody recites this during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise. [Sahih Bukhari 6306]
May Allah make us among those who are repentant, may Allah make us among those who are pure and purified, and may Allah accept our repentance.
各位教親，
真主九十九個尊名當中的其中兩個尊名就是至仁的，至慈的，而這兩個名字是我們每一天都會提到的：以至仁至慈的真主之名，還有在開端章。真主的慈悲跟仁慈在古蘭經裡面一直不斷地重複：祂是寬恕者，祂是饒恕者。
真主有最偉大最美麗的尊名，但是祂在這些尊名當中祂特別強調祂的仁慈，因為這是跟我們有直接的關係的，跟我們人類存在的原因有直接的關聯。
真主在創造人類的時候告訴了天使：
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌۭ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةًۭ ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
真主告訴天使：我要將人類成為這個大地上的統治者。天使們就問了真主：祢難道要把這個權利交給腐敗、會作惡、會鬥爭的人嗎？相較之下，我們是不斷地讚頌你、崇拜你、然後不會犯罪的。真主就說了：我知道你們所不知道的。[2:30]
學者們解釋，真主創造人類的其中一個原因跟道理，就是為了要演示跟展示祂的慈愛。假如人類不存在，而只有天使存在，那麼真主根本不用原諒，因為天使不會作惡，那麼真主的完美性就不能被展現出來了。只有人類的存在，只有當人類犯罪、作惡、犯錯，在從中反悔，向真主懺悔，那麼我們才能夠真正了解真主是多麽地仁慈。
從這一點來看，我們必須要了解，真主並沒有把我們創造成完美無缺的人，因為天使們已經存在了。真主的仁慈跟慷慨是針對我們人類的，不是針對天使的。
先知（SAW）說：
كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ وَخَيْرُ الْخَطَّائِينَ التَّوَّابُونَ
亞當的所有子孫都是罪人，都是會犯罪的，但是這些罪人當中最好的人，是懺悔的人，是懂得反省的人。[Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2499]
所以人類沒有任何例外，所有人類都會犯錯。但是更重要的不是這個罪本身有多大，而是我們如何去面對這個錯誤。Adam (AS) 跟魔鬼 Iblees 都違抗了真主，但是他們兩個之間的差別就是他們對於自己的罪過所給的反應。
真主用了 Adam (AS) 來當作一個例子跟模範來讓我們學習：當 Adam (AS) 犯了錯的時候，真主不是直接就懲罰了他，而是給他一個機會學習怎麼懺悔。他懂得到承認自己的錯誤，要為自己的錯誤感到有罪惡感，接著再誠心誠意地向真主為自己的行為求恕饒。Adam (AS) 向真主求恕饒的時候做了一個 Du’a：
رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ
我們的主啊！我們已經自欺了，我們已經冤屈自己了，如果你不赦宥我們，不慈憫我們，我們一定會成為虧折的人，我們一定會成為失敗的人。[7:23]
所以就連我們的祖先 Adam (AS) 在天園裡面都犯了錯，而這就是我們人類的天性，沒有任何例外，但是在同時，真主也教我們要向他祈求饒恕，而且不能為自己的罪惡感到絕望。古蘭經裡面其中一個最正面、最勵志、最優美的經文之一就是這一節：
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
你說：「我的過分自虧的眾僕啊！對安拉的恩惠，你們不要絕望，安拉必定赦宥一切罪過，他確是至赦的，確是至慈的。[39:53]
這是真主自己親自說的：絕對不要對真主的仁慈感到絕望。真主一定寬恕所有罪過。這世界上沒有任何一個罪過是真主不能寬恕的。最糟糕、最嚴重的罪過就是以物配主 Shirk，但是就連以物配主在一個人進入伊斯蘭成為穆斯林的時候也一樣會被真主饒恕。
在一則聖訓當中，先知 (SAW) 說：大罪當中最嚴重的罪行包含，以物配主、對真主的仁慈感到絕望，以及對真主的安排感到安逸（意思就是認為在犯了錯之後不會接受任何後果）[Tafsīr Ibn Abī Ḥātim 5201]
也就是說，對真主的仁慈感到絕望是最嚴重的罪之一，甚至是比殺人還要嚴重。原因是因為，假如一個人認為他的罪沒辦法被真主寬恕，他等於是在侷限真主的慈悲，反而把他自己給塑造成多偉大的人，認定他的罪大到沒有人可以原諒他。這個行為就是在否定真主的能力。
在同一個聖訓裡面先知也說了另外一個最嚴重的罪行就是從真主的安排中感到安逸跟舒適。這就是另一個極端：我們不能因為覺得，真主就是最仁慈的，所以不管我們做什麼，反正到最後真主都會原諒。我們真正能夠感到安心安逸的時候是我們真正踏進天堂的那一瞬間。在我們到達那一步之前，我們必須要持續敬畏跟害怕真主。這個是真主給我們的提醒，要我們從希望跟害怕當中取得平衡。
現在，假如我們犯了罪，犯了錯，我們該怎麼辦？該怎麼懺悔？
我們可以遵循四個簡單的步驟：
1. 要為自己的行為感到罪惡感，要感到後悔，要悔恨自己所犯的行為
2. 要下定決心不再犯同樣的錯誤。就算我們之後又還是犯了錯，我們還是一樣要懺悔
3. 立刻停止這個惡行。假如這個惡行是影響到了其他人的權益，不管是肢體上、金錢上、還是誹謗或背談，那需要向被害者求饒恕
4. 最後，用善功來彌補過錯，做祈禱向真主求恕饒。例如說，可以洗小淨，禮兩拜聖行拜。其中一個求恕饒的很好的祈禱就是 Sayyidul Istighfar，也就是最優美的求恕詞，這個祈禱詞的內容就是：
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ
先知 (SAW) 說：誰只要在白天有堅信地唸這一段，然後在當天晚上的時候歸真，那他就會進天堂；誰只要在晚上有堅信地唸這一段，然後在隔天的早上之前歸真，那他就會進天堂。[Sahih Bukhari 6306]
求真主 Allah 使我們成為懂得懺悔的人之一， 求真主使我們清淨清廉，求真主接受我們的懺悔。